Secondary trainee-teachers’ knowledge of students’ errors and difficulties in algebra

Description/Abstract

This study investigated trainee-teachers' explanations of students' errors in algebra and their suggested ways for addressing such errors. The findings indicate that only a small proportion of trainee-teachers understand the sort of characteristics that determine the complexity of an algebra problem such as the number of variables in the problem, the nature of the elements involved and, importantly, students' interpretations of the letters.